How to sleep less but still awake and energized

In this Sleep Tips and Tricks category, EZ Sleep Time Calculator will share with you how to sleep less and stay awake. Hope the article will help everyone!

Introduction: The general situation of many people

Sleep is very important for us. Waking up in the morning, feeling so tired and lethargic, then it’s like that day is thrown away.

And I am sure that not only me but also many people suffer from this problem. The feeling of getting up in the morning which is very tiring, even though the night before you slept more or less. And so the whole day you are always in a state of lethargy, irritability, discomfort. Learning is affected, work isn’t completed, etc. Overall lots of things are affected when you are not energized because of the low sleep quality.

This situation also occurs frequently to some specific jobs that need to stay up early. So how to overcome this situation? How to stay up late and still get up early and not feel tired or irritable? How to have a less yet better sleep?

Diagnosis: The reason we feel tired when we wake up

We will clearly understand the source of the problem with a little knowledge of sleep. Don’t be surprised, there is a whole area of scientific research about sleep.

But be assured, the following are not profound. So please read carefully, otherwise, you will apply the wrong way. So it is not only not useful but it also ruins your health.

How does the body sleep?

First, we need to know how the body sleeps. A normal person, without the knowledge of sleep science, will think very simply. For example, they start sleeping at 10 pm and wake up at 6 am. By default, they would think that the body is deep into the sleep during that time.

That is completely wrong! In essence, people do not sleep like that. To be exact, we sleep according to each cycle.

Sleep cycle – The stages of sleep

Each sleep cycle lasts for about 90 minutes, during which time our brain cycle from slow-wave sleep to REM sleep in which we have dreams.

Each cycle is divided into stages. This is the crux of the problem. 5 stages of sleep as follow:

1^st stage: known as light stage sleep: limp eyes, the body starts to “slow down” (breathing pattern and heart rate) that we gradually fall asleep.
2^nd stage: Sleepiness: the body starts to sleep but is not very deep. This time period accounts for 50% of sleep. This is an important stage of sleep and it is believed that most of our memory are formed or consolidated during this time.
3rd stage: Deep sleep: This stage accounts for about 10% of sleep.
4th stage: Sleeping very deeply: The whole body is completely rested. It is very hard to wake up a person who is in stage 4 of sleep.
5th stage: Dream sleep: Even though you are sleeping, the muscles that move your body are paralyzed, your eyes still move. This is called the REM stage (Rapid Eye Movement).

After each cycle, the body begins to continue a new cycle until we wake up. On average, if you get 5 sleeps a night, you will be awake and fresh when you wake up.

The reason for a tired body

If we wake up while the body is in the 3^rd or 4^th stage of the cycle, even though you have already slept for 8-9 hours, you will surely have a very tiring day. Especially in stage 4. Why? Because in this stage, the whole body is fully relaxed or “limp”. Suddenly you waken up, which means your body is obliged to start. Everything is not ready to return to normal operation. And so, we will “have” a very very tired day.

In short, the reason why you feel tired after a night of sleep is that you wake up at a stage in which your body is not ready to function.

So, how to sleep less yet stay healthy?

Read more: Nightmares – How to remove them?

The ways to Sleep Less but still Stay Awake – Scientifically verified

Ideal conditions for a good night’s sleep

Through the above section, we draw out the following conditions for good sleep:

Get enough sleep (5 cycles)

Wake up at the right time (at the end of this cycle and the beginning of the next cycle)

That is the theory. But how can we control the wake-up moment in practice?

The perfect wake-up time formula

Wake-up time = bedtime + 1.5h x 5 + X

In which:

1.5h = 90 minutes: equivalent to 1 cycle of the sleep.
5h x 5: equivalent to the total 5 stages of a sleep cycle.
X: Estimated time period from lying down to sleep til when the body enters stage 1.

Each person will have a different X value. If you don’t know how you can determine your X value, don’t worry. The scientists have already calculated an average figure. Each person usually takes about 14 minutes to go to sleep.

For example: If you sleep at 22:00, you will get the following result:

Wakup-time = 22h + 1.5h x 5 + 14min = 5h44min

It means the perfect waking time of your is 5.44 am. So simple right!

How to apply to reality? How to sleep less but stay awake and healthy?

“I have to stay up late to work to 1 am and wake up before 6 am, what should I do?”

If the above formula is applied, we have the result as below:

Wakup-time = 1h + 1.5h x 5 + 14min = 8h44min

You see that it does not guarantee the time required. Don’t worry, there’s a solution.

The number 5 in the formula is the perfect number of cycles for a sleep. However, you can give a different number, ranging from 3 to 6. Then we have:

Wakup-time = 1h + 1.5h x 3 + 14min = 5h44min

Totally suits the requirement!

How to quickly calculate my ideal bedtime and wake-up time?

These formulas are too complicated for you? Calculating them makes you forget your sleep?

Don’t worry, we understand your worries, so we created an Online Sleep Calculator tool. Tell us “What time do you want to wake-up?” and we’ll give you the best time to sleep for you immediately.

Important notes

The minimum cycles are 3 and the maximum is 6. Don’t take other numbers outside this range. If lower, your body will probably be exhausted, even if you wake up at the perfect time. Sleep under 3 cycles, make sure the next day you will be extremely lethargic.
Some cases were awake in the perfect time range but did not wake up and continue to sleep. Consequently, the body continues to move into a new cycle, the time you wake up may not be a perfect time. And so you still feel tired.
It is not recommended to use a little sleep but still be awake for a long time with only 3 sleep cycles. Understand that you need to sleep! You can cut back 1 hour or so on sleep, and still be full-of-energy in the daytime. But not to over this! There is no way that you sleep just 3 or 4 hours per day and still maintain your good health physically and mentally!

If possible, practice a habit of going to bed early and getting up early so that sleep time can reach 5 cycles. It is impossible to apply a little sleep and stay energized forever. After all, staying up late is very harmful to health.

Optimize-Your-Sleep-now — Optimize Your Sleep now

Hope that this knowledge and tips can help you in your daily work and life! Should you have any other suggestion to sleep less and stay awake, don’t hesitate to share it to the world!